


Showing Hearts

by ByTheAngell (SomeLittleInfamy)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Feels, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-26 23:45:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16691233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeLittleInfamy/pseuds/ByTheAngell
Summary: Alec is ready to promise the rest of his life to Magnus, working on a sentimental gesture that doesn't quite go according to plan.





	Showing Hearts

It’s the end of a very, _very_ long day for Alec Lightwood, who stays later than the rest of the Shadowhunters to relish the quiet that settles over the Institute after a stressful day of nonstop activity. From rushing himself to and from meetings, to going out in the field as emergency backup after a routine sweep of what was _supposed_ to be an abandoned nest of rogue vampires turned out to be a lot less abandoned than their intel suggested, he’s just thankful there’s a second left to breathe. Alec takes a shower and changes into a pair of gray sweatpants and a black tank top he still keeps in his old room, even though he can’t remember the last time he actually spent a full night here rather than the bed he shares with Magnus back at the Loft.

He’s tired. No, more than that - he’s _exhausted_ , with every muscle aching in protest as he bends over to lace up his sneakers - but he isn’t quite ready to return to the place he calls home just yet. Slightly revitalized from the shower and inhaling the scent of sandalwood from the shampoo and body wash Magnus made for him to keep here, he grabs a small box from inside the drop dresser drawer and moves down the hallway impulsively. Magnus has clients tonight, Alec is pretty sure he remembers him saying, and with an extra hour or so to kill he’s drawn to the piano.

There’s a shelf to the side with classical pieces, sheets of intricate notes dating back decades and centuries, along with a few more contemporary pieces. Alec puts the box down on top of the piano and picks up a few sheets of music printed off one day from the internet onto flimsy computer paper and folds them a bit at the center so they’ll stand up straight in front of him before sitting, shifting to situate himself more comfortably on the bench.

He only means to stay there for a few minutes and make a little more progress on where he left off the day before, but he gets caught up in the music and loses all track of time.

The piano was never something Alec was particularly good at. His long fingers and thin hands are practically made for the instrument but it was always Jace who seemed to take more naturally to the craft, where Alec chooses moments no one else is around to pluck his way through the notes, striking more wrong keys than correct ones until he has a better read on the notes in front of him. After enough repetition he falls into an easy rhythm on the sections he’s been practicing for weeks now, always after everyone else has gone, always alone. Perhaps the overnight security patrols hear him from time to time, or Izzy or Jace if they stay a bit later to catch up on reports, but if they do they don’t say anything.

“ _My head’s under water  
_ _But I’m breathing fine_  
You’re crazy and I’m out of my mind”

Once the notes begin to flow freely he adds his voice, soft but passionate. It doesn’t take a musical scholar to hear the emotion behind the words or to tell that the cracks that come at certain moments aren’t from an inability to hit the notes but something deeper moving him beyond words. Alec loses himself in the music, in the lyrics, in how much they reflect everything he’s thinking and feeling and wishes more than anything he could put so perfectly into words of his own. He wants to tell Magnus how much he means to him, how desperately he wishes nothing more than to share every high and low, big or small, with him for the rest of his life. And he will, one day. Alec smiles to himself thinking of the moment when, once he’s perfected it, he can finally share this with the only person he trusts with _all of himself_ , praying to the Angel that Magnus will feel the same.

 _“_ _The world is beating you down, I’m around through every mood  
_ _You’re my downfall, you’re my muse  
_ _My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues_  
I can’t stop singing, it’s ringing, in my head for you”

This is what Magnus arrives to when he decides to surprise his boyfriend at the Institute after his last client. He returned back to the loft to find it empty and attempted to reach Alec’s cell only to find it ringing uncharacteristically to voicemail. He’s curious enough (with the hint of worry that comes with dating a Shadowhunter who has no qualms with throwing himself into harm’s way in the name of Duty and Honor and every other ridiculously selfless trait Magnus both loves and hates Alec for in equal measure) to portal himself to the Institute, starting his search at Alec’s office and moving on from there.

The sound of the piano carries through the otherwise quiet halls of the Institute. Magnus follows it curiously, the tune familiar but not immediately recognizable to him until he draws closer to the open door of the room it’s coming from. He can hear a voice now and nearly stops walking when he _does_ recognize that, because he’d recognize that voice anywhere; it’s Alec.

Magnus only heard him sing like this once before, while taking a shower at the Loft while Magnus was out - except he’d come back early and caught Alec enthusiastically singing the (somewhat incorrect) lyrics to a song Magnus played for him a few days prior. The moment he realized Magnus was home he stopped, did nothing but speak of how embarrassed he was despite Magnus’ reassurances that he was actually rather good, and refused to so much as hum under his breath for weeks. Every time Magnus caught his boyfriend singing something quietly to himself after that he made sure to encourage it - it’s a side of Alec he doesn’t see often, and one he would love to see more of.

And now he’s getting that wish. Magnus stands in the doorway. He listens. He admires from where he is, careful not to make a sound, wanting to take in as much of this unfiltered, raw emotion he sees so rarely from his guarded, soldier boyfriend… but the longer he does the more it almost feels invasive, as if he’s watching some private part of Alec’s life that isn’t meant for him to witness. Magnus recognizes it now: it’s the same song from the shower, the same one Magnus played for him the other week after coaxing him into some swaying slow-dance after a few glasses of wine.

“ _Cards on the table, we’re both showing hearts  
_ _Risking it all, though it’s hard--_ ”

And then Alec’s voice cracks, giving way to a swell of emotion that Magnus can see in every inch of him: it’s in the hesitation of his fingers, in the exaggerated up and down of his chest as his breath hitches, and in the quiver of his lips; Magnus betrays himself by letting out a small, but audible, gasp of air in response.

The next notes fumble, fingers missing their marks as Alec’s hands slide from the ivory and ebony keys and his entire body turns sharply on the bench to stare at the door with a look that can only be described as mortification. It’s only then that Magnus sees the threat of tears welling in those beautiful hazel eyes.  

They stare at each other in silence as the last of the notes played vibrate and fade through the suddenly charged air.

“It was meant to be a surprise,” Alec mumbles under his breath, wiping quickly at his eyes in the hopes that maybe there’s a chance Magnus hadn’t seen the tears there.

“Well, I’m certainly surprised,” Magnus confesses, unable to keep the awe from his tone.

“Not that. I mean, yes, that, but…” Alec seems to struggle with himself for a moment, biting his lower lip as he brings a hand to rub at the back of his neck like he always does when he’s thinking about something that worries him.

“What is it?” Magnus prompts, letting him know it’s alright to share whatever it is that’s on his mind. He can’t imagine why Alec is sat there crying over the piano, but he wants to know. He wants to help.

“You weren’t supposed to hear it yet. And now I’m getting all emotional and I can’t stop, and _fuck_ , this isn’t at all how this is supposed to go.”  Despite the fresh stream of tears that are now as confusing as they are concerning, Alec huffs out a… laugh?... while shaking his head slowly to himself.

“I don’t follow, darling. How _what_ is supposed to--” Magnus starts, trying to understand, when Alec reaches over and grabs a small black, velvet box from next to the sheet music. He falls immediately silent. Magnus hadn’t even noticed it against the black backdrop of the piano while his eyes were glued to Alec, but now he can’t seem to look away from the box in Alec’s hand even when Alec starts speaking again.

“It was supposed to be this big romantic gesture. I was going to practice, and think of something clever and probably way too cheesy to say about how there’s no one else I’d rather give my all to, and I certainly wasn’t supposed to be half in tears in the middle of the Institute wearing a pair of old sweatpants, and--”

“Alexander,” Magnus cuts him off, finally tearing his eyes away from the box to look back up at Alec.

“Yeah?”

“Just ask me already.”

Alec’s worried expression fades to a soft smile and he nods, sliding off of the bench to get down on one knee. “When I first met you I couldn’t begin to imagine a future where I could have someone like you in my life. Now I can’t picture my life without you by my side every step of the way, and I hope I never have to.” He almost forgets the box on his hands and opens it quickly, hands shaking slightly, to expose the simple silver band within. “Magnus Bane, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Magnus chokes out almost before Alec finishes asking the question, and Alec slides the ring onto the finger that’s been consistently lacking adornment since the day Alec met him. “For you, Alexander, the answer is always - and forever - _yes_.”    


**Author's Note:**

> In case you are somehow unaware at this point of existing on the earth, lyrics belong to "All of Me" by John Legend. 
> 
> (Find me on [Tumblr](http://bytheangell.tumblr.com) )


End file.
